On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, George Carter and Siobhan McDonnell join us to talk about Australia’s diplomacy in the Pacific, and if the new Australian government can become the region’s “partner of choice”. 

How important is strong action on climate change to Australia’s security relationships in the Pacific? What lessons does China’s failure to strike a multilateral security and trade agreement with Pacific Island countries hold for Australia? And how could Oceanic and First Nations diplomacy lead to deeper, lasting cooperation? Dr George Carter, Research Fellow at ANU Department of Pacific Affairs, and Dr Siobhan McDonnell, Senior Lecturer at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, join Professor Sharon Bessell and Dr Arnagretta Hunter to discuss climate action, security, and Australia’s Pacific diplomacy.

This episode was recorded on the morning of Wednesday 1 June, before Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited Samoa and Tonga.

George Carter is a Research Fellow in Geopolitics and Regionalism at ANU Department of Pacific Affairs and Director of the ANU Pacific Institute.

Siobhan McDonnell is a legal anthropologist with over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous people in Australia and the Pacific on land use, gender, and climate change. She is a Senior Lecturer at Crawford School of Public Policy and Chief Investigator for the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project on Climate Change and Gender in the Pacific.

Sharon Bessell is Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.

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